this was when I was at one of my heaviest. 300+ pounds and then my lightest which was a little under 170 pounds.
it was a 4 year duration and I didn’t have a personal trainer. I was self-taught and went through trial and error. had friends like you and the supporting fitness communities like you all here at T-nation.
Shit dude, that’s amazing. Congratulations on the hard work and the reward.
What was the hardest thing to overcome and how’d you go about it?
Amazing job mate, well done.
getting that much accomplished in 4 years through ‘trial and error’ is pretty phenomenal. Hell, most people can’t do what you did working with a pro! I’m impressed as hell.
So you’ve obviously built some muscle along with shedding the fat. Can you talk a little about how that process went? Did you start with just diet, or were you lifting the entire time you were dropping fat? A brief timeline would be great if you’re willing to share that.
thank you! 
I would say the hardest thing to overcome was enduring the pain. When I say pain, physically we adapt but the mental pain was hardest. I always doubted myself in everything. I was pretty raised up in a home where my dreams were always shot down. So, the doubts I was once told were very audible at first, but then I just decided to face the music and overcome the doubts and beat the confidence into accomplishing the goal.
thank you, mate! I still have such a long way to go.
Thank you, brotha!!
In the first year, all I did was try to run and build up cardio endurance. I lost about 40 pound alone the first year. To be able to run a mile without being gassed out was a long time goal for me.
second year, I hit a plateau and decided to start lifting. Of course, all I though about was just lifting heavy. Being untrained and not really coordinated, that was difficult. I had no idea in programming or developing a training routine. Didn’t have a trainer. I picked up magazines and read workout routines and just looked at the movement and did my best to imitate them. Until I hurt myself. still doing a bunch of cardio and lifting, lost another 20 pounds then really plateaued.
I didn’t really look at what I was eating or how much. Ended up seeing down the road that I was crash dieting and then overeating and then not eating.
third year, I stepped back and started really learning. browsing a lot on T-nation, other reputable training coaches, nutritionists, fitness gurus, and of course a lot of magazines. Took the initiative to really look into programming and actually studying training style of bodybuilders that I admired.
Fourth year, I met my mentor who really helped me understand foundation. He help me understand and build a stronger foundation and since then I’ve been researching and focusing on continuing to tighten up my foundation in all my training.
I crash dieted really bad. I actually lost a lot of size then had to build back up and cut down again. when I was 165-170, all I literally had was a mid-section and that was cause of cardio and excessive dieting. when I built back up, my metabolism was shot so I rebounded hard. reading up on information regard to taking advantage of glycogen super re-compensation, it ended working for my good. though I got kind of thick around the mid-section, the weight gained helped me push harder in the gym and focus on building muscle.
Today, I’m down to 188 at 9% and my goal is 180 at 5-6% in the next 12 weeks.
thanks for being so thorough. That process makes absolute sense, and is very similar to what I imagined it would have been.
The sky is the limit for you man. You’ve obviously got the discipline and work ethic to do whatever you want to with your physique, and that should translate to life in general. Hope you stick around. We’d love to see you participating in the forums on here. Have you considered keeping a log on here?
That’s amazing. You look great!
Amazing !!!
I am in a very similar position. I started at 285 and used diet alone to drop down to 240. Then I started working out and diet. Right now I am down to 215 but still need to drop 40+. My biggest concern is the stomach skin. It’s not horrible so I am kinda hoping that it may tighten up as I lose the extra weight and all. May I ask you?
Did you have boobs? I am guessing you had at least some sort of man boob going on. I did. And I am scared lol. Does it go away?
What about the lower stomach pouch. Did that go away naturally ?
You look great and I only hope that I can get there . . .
wow, amazing transformation!
That’s some really great work dude, congratulations and have a great weekend. Very inspirational Alex.
When you say getting your foundation what are you referring to? Also, how happy are you now compared to when you started?
Oh wow! This is wonderful! Amazing transformation👏🏼
